Has Douglas Vermeeren from Calgary been charged with fraud and illicit trade activities? (Update 2024)

Douglas Vermeeren Calgary is the CEO of Millionaire Training Systems, but he also holds titles such as author, film producer, and wealth management specialist, among many other accomplishments.

After allegations that Douglas Vermeeren Calgary and his organization, Monthly Millionaire Mentor Ltd., had breached a cease trading order placed against them, Douglas Vermeeren Calgary may not be as knowledgeable as he thought.

This business offers workshops and courses that instruct participants on evaluating investments and business prospects and “the main strategies that millionaires use to create wealth.

The March 2013 Interim Cease Trade Order outlawed all dealing in and acquisition of Monthly Millionaire Mentor securities. Additionally, it meant that the company and Douglas Vermeeren Calgary were not eligible for any exemptions under the securities rules of Alberta and were not allowed to buy or sell any shares.

Douglas Vermeeren Calgary is accused of fraudulently engaging in several loan arrangements to raise $1.3m notwithstanding the limitations. On March 15, 2013, he is believed to have done this with at least 72 investors from Alberta and other parts of Canada. On 3, 2014, and 14, 2013, Douglas John Vermeeren is believed to have gathered investments while pretending that they were loans for various projects.

Douglas Vermeeren Calgary was reportedly given one of the alleged “loans” to assist in the production of one of his films. He has so far been credited with producing the films The Opus and The Gratitude Experiment.

Douglas Vermeeren Calgary is also accused of deceiving investors by converting their money into his personal use or using it to pay returns to other investors, as well as by making false claims about the riskiness of the investments, his investment success, and the amount of money he managed for investors.

According to the report, investments were also obtained on April 3, 2014, and November 14, 2013, under the premise of loans for some initiatives, including aiding Douglas Vermeeren Calgary in the production of a movie.

The ASC asserts that on March 15, 2013, the day after the commission issued an interim halt trade order against him and his business that was to last until the end of an enforcement case, Douglas Vermeeren Calgary collected money from investors.

The Alberta Securities Commission has announced that it will convene on November 24 in Calgary to select a date for Vermeeren’s hearing, during which they will weigh the accusations.

Douglas Vermeeren Calgary claims that he has already discussed financial independence and its concept on his blog. Vermeeren asserts in an online blog that she is a wealth strategy specialist, the CEO of Millionaire Training Systems, and a frequent guest on American and Canadian television networks to discuss money-related topics. The Opus and The Gratitude Experiment are two films he claims to have created.

Financial independence can be measured precisely. How much money is required to satisfy your monthly obligations precisely? Financial freedom comes when you passively generate the precise quantity of revenue required to cover all of your responsibilities and expenses.

“Financial abundance is where life really begins to change, although financial freedom is important.”

The self-proclaimed author is also charged with misleading investors. These allegedly contained details on the degree of risk associated with the investments, his level of investing success, and the sum of money he was in charge of managing for clients. Additionally, Douglas Vermeeren Calgary is charged with using investment cash for personal use or paying returns to other investors while continuing to defraud investors.

Douglas Vermeeren Calgary claims to be the author of the publications Guerrilla Millionaire and Self-made Millionaires for Dummies. Guerrilla Millionaire, one of Douglas Vermeeren Calgary’s books, is available for purchase on Amazon.com.

Douglas Vermeeren Calgary- Statement Of Allegations By Ontario Securities Commission Employees 

Overview

• On June 14, 2016, Douglas John Vermeeren (“Vermeeren” or the “Respondent”) entered into a Settlement Agreement and Undertaking with the Alberta Securities Commission (the “ASC”) (the “Settlement Agreement”).
• Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, Douglas Vermeeren Calgary agreed to certain undertakings to be made subject to sanctions, conditions, restrictions, or requirements within the province of Alberta.
• Staff are seeking an inter-jurisdictional enforcement order reciprocating the Settlement Agreement, pursuant to paragraph 5 of subsection 127(10) of the Ontario Securities Act, RSO 1990, c S.5 (the “Act”).

Douglas Vermeeren Calgary- THE ASC PROCEEDINGS

Agreed Facts

In the Settlement Agreement, Douglas Vermeeren Calgary agreed with the following facts:

Parties

The Respondent is a resident of Calgary, Alberta. At all material times, the Respondent was the sole director and officer of Calgary-based Monthly Millionaire Mentor Ltd. (“MMM”).

Circumstances

• Between December 2011 and April 2014, the Respondent entered into loan agreements (the “Loan Agreements”) with at least 43 investors from Alberta and other parts of Canada, some of which were supported by promissory notes. More than $735,000 was raised by the Respondent in accordance with the Loan Agreements.
• The Loan Agreements had periods ranging from 3 to 24 months with 7% to 10% interest rates. The Loan Agreements designated one of the Respondents, MMM, or the Respondent’s business name, Business Boost, as the “Borrower.
• The Respondent periodically sent “Investment Report” updates to some investors. The Investment Reports included information on each investment, such as the “investment description,” “investment date,” and “investment amount,” as well as the total amount of returns on each investment.
• Investors were aware that loans to third parties, mostly small enterprises, would be made with their money. These loans were referred to in the Investment Reports as “venture capital lending.
• The Respondent met with investors, delivered presentations to prospective investors, handled their money, and interacted with them about their investments.
• Investors gave the Respondent money to be used by the Respondent to profit from “venture capital lending” or lending to third parties. The investors anticipated the Respondent would put forth the necessary effort to fulfill the duties to pay interest on the funds provided to the Respondent. Apart from giving their investment money to the Respondent, investors were not compelled to do anything at all to contribute to the profits. 
• The Respondent gave presentations to potential investors, met with investors, handled investor money, and communicated with investors regarding their investments.
• Investors provided money to the Respondent, to be used by the Respondent, to gain profit from third-party lending or “venture capital lending.” The investors expected the Respondent to make the efforts required to satisfy the obligations to pay interest on the monies given to the Respondent. Investors were not required to do anything whatsoever to help generate the profits other than to provide their investment funds to the Respondent. The venture capital lending was to be a common enterprise, with investors relying significantly on the efforts of the Respondent to realize the expected profits.
• Investors relied heavily on the Respondent’s efforts to realize the anticipated gains since the venture capital lending was to be a shared operation.
• The investments described above qualified as trades in securities under the Alberta Securities Act, RSA 2000, c S-4 (the “Alberta Act”), which defines these terms. Additionally, the Respondent was operating in the business of trading in securities or exchange contracts by his actions or by holding himself out as doing so. These trades qualified as distributions under the Alberta Act since these securities had never before been issued.
• Neither the Respondent nor MMM was registered as a dealer under Alberta securities legislation at any period that was relevant.
• At the time of and in relation to the trades described above, no preliminary prospectus and no final prospectus had been filed with or receipted by the Executive Director of the ASC.

Misleading Statements

The Respondent made claims about one or more investors that he knew—or should have known—were false or deceptive. The respondent claimed:

• “Capital lending” or “venture capital lending” would be done with the invested money; and
• That there were no risks involved in the investment or that their money was “guaranteed”; and that the respondent never suffered a loss on behalf of investors.

In that the statements mentioned in the paragraph above were deceptive or false, the respondent made them knowing they were or should have known they were:

• A portion of the invested funds was used to pay the personal expenses of the Respondent or to pay returns to prior investors.
• There was no basis for the representation that the investments involved no risk nor were guaranteed, and some investors lost some or all of the amounts invested with the Respondent.

Fraud

• The Respondent directly or indirectly engaged or participated in acts, practices, or courses of conduct relating to the aforementioned securities that he knew or reasonably ought to have known would perpetrate fraud on investors. The particulars of the fraudulent conduct engaged by the Respondent include commingling investor funds into the Respondent’s personal account and corporate accounts controlled by the Respondent. Some funds from these accounts were used for personal expenditures and to pay investors. The Respondent did not keep adequate accounting records, making it difficult to determine the precise scope of the fraudulent use of investor funds.
• Some of the investor funds were used for third-party lending.

Breach of Alberta Securities Commission Order

• On March 14, 2013, the ASC issued an interim cease trade order (the “ICTO”) against MMM and the Respondent. The ICTO was extended “until an enforcement proceeding in this matter is concluded and a decision rendered.

• The Respondent raised funds from additional investors in breach of the ICTO.

Settlement

Douglas Vermeeren Calgary consented to certain undertakings and to be subject to sanctions, conditions, limits, or requirements within the province of Alberta in accordance with the Settlement Agreement. Douglas Vermeeren Calgary committed and agreed to:

• Pay the ASC a total of $120,000 to resolve all claims made against him, plus $10,000 to cover the costs of the investigation.
• Cease buying and selling securities or derivatives for a period of ten years after the Settlement Agreement’s execution, though this does not prevent the Respondent from buying or selling exchange-listed securities in his individual capacity or for the benefit of his family only through a registrant in one or more personal or family accounts held with that registrant.
• Resign from any positions he currently holds as a director or officer of any issuer, registrant, or investment fund manager in Alberta or elsewhere in Canada, and for a period of ten years, he must refrain from holding such positions. However, he may continue to act as a director or officer of any issuer that does not currently issue or plan to issue securities to the public.
• The Executive Director of the ASC, or his designee, must enter into or assent to, and cause his spouse to enter into or consent to, such further agreements or papers as may be necessary to effectuate and secure the orderly payment of the $130,000
• Source- Statement of Allegations: In the Matter of Douglas John Vermeeren | Capital Markets Tribunal

Illegal Trade (The crime committed by Douglas Vermeeren Calgary)

Insider trading occurs when a trade has been influenced by the privileged possession of corporate information that has not yet been made public. Because the information is not available to other investors, a person using such knowledge is trying to gain an unfair advantage over the rest of the market. 

Transparency is the cornerstone of a capital market, and it is violated when nonpublic information is used to make a deal. In a transparent market, information is transmitted so that all market players receive it at roughly the same time. In these circumstances, the only way one investor can outperform another is by being skilled at studying and interpreting the information at hand. This ability is dependent on own understanding and merit. Trading with nonpublic knowledge gives one party an unfair advantage that the general public is unable to match. If insider trading were permitted, investors would lose faith in their disadvantageous position and stop investing, which is not only unfair but also disruptive to a functioning market.

Bottom Line

Since illegal insider trading as the crime committed by Douglas Vermeeren Calgary, takes advantage not of skill but chance, it threatens investor confidence in the capital market. It is important for you to understand what illegal insider trading is because it may affect you as an investor and the company in which you are investing.

Has Douglas Vermeeren from Calgary been charged with fraud and illicit trade activities? (Update 2024)

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